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BY MAE SINGUAY
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Friday, February 3, 2017
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BACOLOD City – Police advised a mall to build higher safety railings after a teenager tried to kill himself in the establishment.
Senior Inspector Eugene Tolentino, commander of Police Station 1, believes higher safety railings will discourage suicide attempts.
A 17-year-old boy jumped off the third floor of the SM City-Bacolod North Wing Annex on Wednesday evening.
He was taken to the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital. He had fractured bones. While he was now out of danger, doctors were observing him.
A source said the boy was having “love problems.”
Judging by the height of the mall railings, children and teenagers could easily fall off a higher floor if they were not careful enough, said Toletino.
“It would be best if they make the railings a bit higher or use glass panels that could serve as blockers,” he said.
May Castro, public information officer for SM City-Bacolod, confirmed the incident in a statement.
“He was immediately attended to by our emergency response team,” she said. “Medics arrived and he was immediately brought to the hospital. We are currently cooperating with the local authorities in the ongoing investigation.”
Later Castro said they were taking note of Tolentino’s advice.
But she insisted that the railings adhered to building and safety codes; they were made of tempered glass and actually higher than a person’s standard height.
“The safety of customers and mall-goers will always be our concern,” Castro said.
It was not the first time someone committed suicide inside the mall.
In March 2016, German national Richard Alexander Harbich died after jumping off the third floor. Police said Harbich was deceived by his Filipina lover./PN
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